Spinal fusion permanently joins two or more vertebrae together, eliminating movement at that specific segment. It is recommended when a motion segment is structurally unstable, when deformity requires correction that must be maintained, or when decompression of neural structures would create instability without fusion. The concern most patients raise is loss of flexibility. In practice, most daily movements involve multiple spinal levels - bending, walking, turning - and the loss of movement at one or two fused segments is rarely perceptible in normal daily life, though high-level sport or extreme flexibility is more significantly affected. The key question is always whether the structural problem requiring fusion is already limiting movement more than the fusion itself would.
Written by Dr. Nirdesh H J, MBBS (Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute), MS Orthopaedics (Ramaiah Medical College), DNB Orthopaedics (National Board of Education), FNB Spine Surgery (Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi), AO Spine Asia Pacific Fellowship (Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, under Dr. Arvind Kulkarni), AO Spine International Fellowship (Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, under Prof. Yong Chan Kim), Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (Germany), Consultant Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, SPARSH Hospital, HBR Layout, Hennur Road, Bengaluru 560043. Phone: +91 6363626242.
